


Cakes and Tea

by Rose_of_Pollux



Series: Inktober for Writers, 2019 [15]
Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Gen, Super Smash Bros. Melee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-17 04:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21048071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: [Melee-era] In which Mewtwo did not expect the warm welcome and show of friendship upon agreeing to enter Master Hand’s second tournament.





	Cakes and Tea

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by today's Inktober prompt, "Legend."

Mewtwo had initially reacted to Master Hand’s invitation with derision. There was no question why Master Hand had sought the psychic cat out—Mewtwo’s skills and sheer power had risen the cat to the likes of the other Legendary Pokémon.

But Mewtwo was unique; unlike the other Legendaries, Mewtwo had been created by humans—cloned from Mew and designed to be a fighting machine. After repeated mistreatment from humans had resulted in a deadly rampage, Mewtwo had eventually repented, seeking to live life in solitude, in the shadows, away from prying and curious eyes.

…Of course, Master Hand never seemed to have any trouble finding Mewtwo, despite the numerous hiding places the Pokémon had sought out over the years. Master Hand had been trying to convince Mewtwo to join the ranks of the fighters since his first tournament. Again, he tried to appease the cat during the second one.

If only to shut him up, Mewtwo agreed—but expected nothing from the other fighters. Mewtwo knew of them by reputation; surely the reverse would be true—surely they would know the sorry tale of the murderous, man-made abomination before them!

_Legendary_, Mewtwo silently scoffed. _It is laughable; nothing about me would endear me to those heroes. They would sooner cast me with the villains. …Is that why I am here? Am I to join the ranks of Bowser and Ganondorf…? A motivation for the heroes to fight against…?_

As it turned out, the other fighters didn’t seem to be giving Mewtwo any looks of fear or derision at all. The Hero of Time, of all people, surprisingly gave Mewtwo a nod of greeting; Mewtwo’s psychic abilities could sense much pain and emotional baggage in the Hylian’s heart, especially with Ganondorf present, and yet, he had taken the time and effort for a cordial greeting. Princess Zelda did the same—Mewtwo quickly realizing that she and Sheik were one and the same. Though doubtful that there were few who did not already know this, Mewtwo opted to remain silent on the topic.

But it was not the end of the surprises; Mewtwo received brief greetings from other fighters—most of them too busy with training for the tournament to say anything other than hello, but it was far better than the treatment Mewtwo had been expecting. Captain Falcon swaggered by with a boastful hello, and Samus Aran, noted for hunting out intergalactic monsters, greeted Mewtwo pleasantly, as well. Even Luigi—one who Mewtwo had heard was a brilliant fighter but was held back by his fears—had greeted the cat cheerfully; surely there was significance in the self-proclaimed coward being able to look Mewtwo in the eyes without flinching! And Luigi’s ever-busy brother, Mario, had set aside a moment to warmly shake the cat’s hand and extend a welcome to the tournament before running off again to focus on some last-minute training.

_…They must not know my story after all_, Mewtwo realized. For there was no way to explain their warmness had they known about it.

Now determined not to let the secret out, Mewtwo set about preparing and training, but the cat soon was interrupted by someone clearing her throat.

“Excuse me? Mewtwo?”

Mewtwo turned to see the other princess in the tournament—Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom, standing there. She had a smile on her face—and a teacup in her hands.

“I thought you might want to try some of my tea—freshly brewed!” She paused. “You _do_ drink tea, don’t you?”

Mewtwo stared for a long moment, initially confused, but then somewhat amused.

“_I have never tried it_,” Mewtwo admitted, transmitting thoughts to her psychically.

Wordlessly, she smiled and held the teacup out. Mewtwo levitated it with psychic powers, eventually drinking from it, slowly. She had put sugar in it; it tasted surprisingly sweet and pleasant.

And it was then, in that moment, that Mewtwo realized that no human had ever prepared or presented food or drink they had made before to him until today.

“_…Thank you, Princess_.”

“Of course,” she said, with a smile. “I was thinking of throwing a small pre-tournament party tomorrow before the opening ceremonies—a chance for all of us to relax and chat before the madness starts. There’ll be more food—and I can make more tea. I’ll see if I can find the time to make a cake, too. Would you like to join us? Oh, and…” She looked round, slightly nervous. “Don’t let Bowser or Ganondorf find out. I’d rather keep some distance between Bowser and me after the Isle Delfino incident… And Zelda has assured me that Ganondorf is not worthy of our trust.”

“…_And, I am?_” Mewtwo asked, unable to help asking it.

“Well, of course you are!” Peach said.

Mewtwo stared at her, unblinkingly.

“_Perhaps you are simply not aware_—”

“We know what happened,” Peach replied, gently. “You were hurt and used by truly terrible people, and you did the only thing you could do to defend yourself.”

“_And yet, knowing the extent of my power—knowing that it could happen again, you extend a hand of friendship to me?_”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“_…Point taken_.”

“And I’m confident that it won’t happen again. You may be among competitors and rivals here—but you’re also among friends now. That’s something that everyone deserves. Yes, even you.”

“_…Thank you, Princess_,” Mewtwo transmitted again. “_I would be honored to attend your party tomorrow_.”

“The honor will be mine,” she insisted.

She left the teacup with Mewtwo, and as she left, the psychic Pokémon had to admit that, perhaps, accepting Master Hand’s invitation had been a good idea after all.


End file.
